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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the punishment for the criminal offense of tampering |
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with or fabricating physical evidence. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 37.09, Penal Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsections (c) and (c-1) and adding Subsection (c-2) to |
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read as follows: |
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(c) An offense under Subsection (a) or Subsection (d)(1) is |
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a felony of the third degree, except that the offense is: |
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(1) a felony of the second degree if [unless] the thing |
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altered, destroyed, or concealed is a human corpse; and |
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(2) a Class A misdemeanor if the thing altered, |
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destroyed, or concealed could be used as evidence in the |
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investigation only of or an official proceeding related to only an |
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offense punishable as a misdemeanor[, in which case the offense is a |
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felony of the second degree]. |
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(c-1) An offense under Subsection (d)(2) is a Class A |
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misdemeanor. |
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(c-2) [(c-1)] It is a defense to prosecution under |
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Subsection (a) or (d)(1) that the record, document, or thing was |
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visual material prohibited under Section 43.261 that was destroyed |
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as described by Subsection (f)(3) [(f)(3)(B)] of that section. |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |